My dreadies are about 5 months old and looking really good. They're locking up well and starting to really look like dreads, rather than just messy, fuzzy hair. I rinse or do a bs/acv wash about twice a week, more if necessary (though that's rare). What I find, though, is that every time I get them thoroughly wet, they congo at the roots like crazy. I have to go through them carefully afterward and painfully rip them apart to keep them from joining permanently.Is this an issue that will improve - at least a little! - with maturity, or should I expect that my naturally very curly hair will also trend towards serious congoes?
updated by @joyfuld: 01/13/15 08:49:58PM
ripping congos: will it get better
@jessica-eva-eva-lovelocks
14 years ago
217 posts
i think it does end up getting better. i seperate about once a week when my hair is dry, because when hair is wet it is weaker, so i think it would lead to more breakage if you do it while wet. i think you just have to put up with it!
@soaring-eagle
14 years ago
29,637 posts
wellits easier yo break when wet but in this case thats what u want is to break connecting hairs more easily
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@naturalwomyn
14 years ago
849 posts
yes it will get better but by how much is different for everybody. Mine are only at 8 months and I never have to rip anything apart anymore. That could change later on but for now they just keep getting tighter individually w/o eating each other. Some people have their dreads for may moons and still have to rip apart occasionally. So you'll pretty much just have to wait and see! :o)
@soaring-eagle
14 years ago
29,637 posts
lets put it this way i ripped alot long ago weekly about andstill got 3 or so that 2 joinedthen i left em goin 3 months 5-8 grww together but that was from 3-6 that became 1 eaxch.. after nearly 3 years dozens grew togerther i never let any get over an inch but probly got 30 or more that combined between 2-6 max (i think)found a buncha new babies since stopping jojoba and adding sea salt a weekthose i seperated slightly to see what they doif some thin ones really want to be 1 maybe let em..big ones keep seperate..it gets less and less but u will always hafta seperate unlrss u just dont wanna noo more
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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1
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@naturalwomyn
14 years ago
849 posts
i think it depends on your hair texture and the thickness of your dreads my husbands coming up on 5 years in a few months and he hasn't had to separate his dreads in over 4 years. They just don't try to congo anymore. He has very thick hair and phat dreads though so....
At first, I too had to separate like mad... then as I started approaching 6-8 months, I didn't need to very often anymore... then I decided to force two to congo, and from there there's been minimal separation. I just make sure to go through each one every few days and make sure I don't get mega congos at the root...as those could be really painful to separate. It'll get better I'm sure! But it's hard for any of us to say exactly when.
Awesome, that's a great pseudo-consensus. It's not that I mind doing a little maintenance - especially because it's pretty much the only thing I ever do to them besides washing them - it's just that the congoing recently got worse and separating got WAY more painful and time consuming. It's nice to think that I can likely look forward to them congoing less at some point in the future.
@soaring-eagle
14 years ago
29,637 posts
make the seperating extra thouroughinsteasd of just ripping which can compact some knots to the rootsafter u rip take a fingertip and try to get under anty hairs between that are flattened to the scalp if u get under ant hairs between dreads oull upward this way if u seperate to the scalp theres alot less chance they will recombine soon
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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1
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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1